The use of product holding and displaying members has become increasingly popular in order to enable both secure holding of products to be sold as well as providing the ability of these products to be conveniently displayed for sale. Typically product holding and display members are formed from transparent plastic material to enable consumers to see the product being purchased prior to actually buying the product. Generally, prior art product holding and display members comprise either a blister-pack type design or a clamshell-type design.
The blister-pack product holding and display members have become very popular due to the lower cost and ease of manufacture. However, the blister-type packages cannot be reused when opened, thereby preventing the consumer from employing the packaging for storage. In this regard, the clamshell product holding and display members have been employed for providing the desired product securement and visual display capabilities, as well as being able to be reused by the consumer as a holding member for the product after use.
Although product holding and display members formed from the clamshell-type construction have become increasingly popular, particularly for more expensive products, due to their reusability, one drawback which has plagued the industry is the inability of the clamshell-type product holding and display member from being successfully employed with products the consumer wishes to test prior to purchase. Although a variety of products fall within this class of goods, the most typical type of product comprises cutting or shearing members, such as scissors, clippers, hedge trimmers, and the like.
Prior art product holding and displaying members have been constructed of the blister-type variety which securely retains shear-type instruments and allow consumers to test the shear-type instrument prior to purchasing. Although effective in enabling consumers to test the product prior to purchase, these prior art packages require additional assembly steps to assure secure retention of the product and display of the product in the closed position. In addition, in order to securely retain the product, complete closure of the product is typically unobtainable. As a result, the complete cutting action cannot be tested.
No prior art construction has been attained for enabling such shear-type instrument to be retained in a clamshell-type holding and display member which allows the consumer the ability to test the product prior to purchasing. Due to the construction requirements for clamshell-type product holding members, prior art systems have been incapable of being constructed which will allow such pivotable product member to be retained in a clamshell holder while also being usable or testable prior to purchase.
Therefore, it is a principal object of the present invention to provide a clamshell-type product holding and display member which is capable of securely retaining the product while also enabling the product to be tested by the consumer prior to use.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a product holding and display member having the characteristic features described above which can be employed for securely retaining pivotable cutting or shear-type instruments, such as scissors, clippers, trimmers and the like.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a product holding and display member having the characteristic features described above which enables the shear-type instrument to be pivoted or operated by the consumer prior to use, while also securely retaining the product in a clamshell construction in a manner which assures the retailer that the product cannot be removed from the holding and display member without opening the clamshell construction.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a product holding and display member having the characteristic features described above which enables the shear-type instrument to be assembled with the holding and display member in the closed position, thereby preventing the opening and closing of the shear-type instrument during packaging.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a product holding and display member having the characteristic features described above which enables the shear-type instrument to be completely closed while retained in the holding and display member, thereby providing improved testing of the product.
Other and more specific objects will in part be obvious and will in part appear hereinafter.